Three people, including two members of the West Virginia State National Guard, were shot and wounded on Wednesday, November 26, near the White House in Washington, DC. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced the deaths of the two reservists on social media “conflicting information” regarding their condition. A suspect who was also shot and injured was arrested, capital police said.
At the time of the incident, President Donald Trump was on the golf course in West Palm Beach. “The White House is informed and following this tragic situation, the president is kept informed”White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the press. Donald Trump reacted on his Truth Social network: “The animal that shot two national guardsmen (…), he will pay a heavy price.”.
Five hundred additional National Guard troops will be deployed to Washington, the Pentagon chief announced on Wednesday. “This only strengthens our resolve to make Washington a safe place”said Pete Hegseth, who was on a trip to the Dominican Republic, making this announcement. The new deployment will increase the number of soldiers from the reserve corps deployed in the city to more than 2,500.
Placement is decided by the president
Donald Trump decided, on August 11, to place the police force in the capital, Washington, under the control of his administration and deploy the military there – an extraordinary move for the city, according to him “attacked by violent gangs” and he wants to “to clean”.
The National Guard reserves report to each American state and can only be deployed in the event of a national emergency, such as a natural disaster, at the request of the federal state and with the approval of the local governor. They should not intervene in crimes, riots or demonstrations.
While official statistics show a decrease in violent crime in Washington, the American president stated that he was implementing measures that gave him the authority to take control of the police in this city with special status in the United States. In contrast to the 50 American states, Washington municipalities operate within the framework of a special relationship with the federal states, which limits their autonomy.
